Coke's PlantBottles Roll Out Nationwide

ATLANTA -- Coca-Cola said its 100% recyclable beverage packages made from plants are readily available across the U.S. All Dasani bottles and Odwalla single-serving containers will be available exclusively in the new PlantBottle packaging.

The Odwalla PlantBottles are made from up to 100% plant-based materials. The high-density polyethylene plastic is created using only ethylene, which is derived from 100% renewable sugarcane-based ethanol. The Dasani PlantBottles are made with up to 30% plant-based materials blended with petroleum-based plastic.

There are reportedly no differences in shelf life, weight or appearance between traditional PET plastic bottles and PlantBottles.

Coke launched its plant material-based bottle in 2009 in the western U.S. and eight other markets around the world. In 2010, more than 2.5 billion of the packages were available across nine countries. For 2011, the beverage giant expects that number to double to more than five billion PlantBottle packages in over 15 countries.

Coca-Cola said it is improving technology so other plant materials can be used in future PlantBottle packaging. The long-term goal is to turn waste into a resource, resulting in a carbon neutral, 100% renewable sourced bottle that is fully recyclable.

The technology used to make PlantBottle packaging already has been adopted by Heinz, which recently announced it will begin packaging its ketchup using that technology this summer under license from Coke.